Case file: the cropped-face thumbnail

Case file: the cropped-face thumbnail

Small visual change, logged result.

— Original thumbnail: full scene, product centered, person in frame at normal distance.
— New thumbnail: hard crop on the face, eyes at the top third, mouth mid-reaction.
— Click-through on the same video rose 33%.

Why it works: a large face with a clear emotion is the oldest attention magnet there is, and a tight crop makes the emotion readable at thumbnail size. Full scenes turn to mush when shrunk; a single expression survives the downscale. File under: design for the size it's actually viewed at, not the size you edit it at.